Family Bonding
by Hopefaith2
Summary: Takes place after "A Night To Remember". Mario and Peach are supposed to be going on a date today, but Felicity is sick with a bad cold, and Peach treats her cold, with the help of Mario. Now's the time to make up for lost time between the two.


_**Hey everybody! This is my first one-shot, but it definitely won't be my last! This is actually related to "A Night To Remember" somewhat. Since Mario, Peach, and Felicity didn't have bonding time as they planned, I decided to write a one-shot bout them bonding after that story. They'll still be romance between you know who. I don't own anything except my OC Felicity. All characters, items, places, etc belong to Nintendo. Anyways, you know the drill. Read and review, and enjoy!**_

One week after the Luigi and Daisy's dating incident, everything was back to normal. Mario is walking outside in the Mushroom Kingdom with tons of confidence while humming a happy tune. _Today's the day that Peach and I are going on a picnic. I can't wait to taste her amazing cooking again! This is gonna be great!_ Mario continues walking until he finally makes it to the front doors of the castle of Princess Peach. He greets the guards as he knocks on the door. Toadsworth opens the door, and smiles seeing Mario at the door.

"Ah Master Mario! Glad to see you here as usual!"

"Hey Toadsworth. Is Peach here? We were supposed to go on a picnic today."

"Yes she is. She is in the Princess Felicity's bedroom. You may want to talk to her about that picnic Master Mario. Now may not be a good time."

"Is something wrong? Is Peach alright? Is she in danger?" Mario asks frantically and worriedly.

"Oh ho ho! Do not worry about the Princess Peach. She is fine."

"Then why?"

"I believe you should speak to the Princess personally. She wants to tell you, and not one of us."

"Thanks Toadsworth." Mario says as he runs up the stairs into Felicity's lavender bedroom. He opens the door to see Peach sitting on her bed. She wearing her usual, but beautiful pink dress with all her accessories except her crown. Mario runs toward her and bends down on one of his knees to face her.

"Peach, are you alright?"

"Mario. I'm glad to see you. Toadsworth told you then."

"Not entirely. He told me to ask you for the reason why. Care to explain?" Mario says but stops when he realizes why. He sees Felicity in her bed, breathing rapidly. Her light brown hair is wet with sweat, and covers her face. He goes up to her, and bends down on his knee, and puts one face on her cheek.

"Felicity. What happened to her Peach?"

"She has a cold. She must of caught it when we went to Ice Land for a diplomatic meeting a few days ago. She wasn't used to the weather, so it made her catch it more quickly."

"What's the symptoms she has?"

"She was coughing, and sneezing at first. It became so bad to the point that it made her throat very sore. It hurts for her to talk. She had a 102 fever this morning, so I made her stay in bed."

"I completely understand why you wanted to postpone our date now. I'll even stay here, and help nurse Felic back to health with you too."

"Oh Mario, I already feel guilty enough for cancelling our date, but I don't want you to stay here against your will."

"Don't worry about Peach. Felic means a lot to the both of us, and I want to help as much as I can. I love you and Felicity, and I want to help."

"Thank you, Mario. I'm gonna make her some raspberry tea for her to drink when she wakes up. Would you mind staying with her for a while until I get back?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind. Maybe we can actually bond. Sides, your magnificent tea always warms and heals anyone who drinks it."

"Aww Mario. You're so sweet, and understanding. That's what I love about you, and a lot more." Peach says as she gives him a quick kiss on the lips, then walks out the room. Mario walks toward Felicity's bed, and sits in the same place Peach did. He moves her hair out of her face. She stirs in her sleep, and opens her brown eyes to see Mario above her.

"Mar? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on a date with Mom?" She says as loud as she possibly could.

"Easy there kiddo. Don't strain your voice like that. Your mom was worried about you, so she stayed here to help you get better, and I'm helping out too."

"I'm so sorry I pretty much ruined your date with her Mar. If I hadn't gotten sick, then you and her would be eating her cooking underneath a tree, enjoying yourselves."

"Felic, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault that you got sick. You weren't used to Ice Land's weather. You're not the only one who gotten sick from that place. I got sick the first time I went there too."

"Really?" Felicity says as she sits up in interest, but starts to have another series of coughs, which startles and worries Mario. After she stops, she grabs her throat in pain.

"Are you okay Felic?" Felicity nods and smiles at him.

"Yeah. This always happens after I cough like that. Don't worry about it. So, tell me about the first time you got sick at Ice Land."

"Alright. It was about a year before you came here. Weegee and I learned that your mom was kidnapped by Bowser, and he took her to Ice Land. I went alone because Weegee had to help out Daisy with something in Sarasaland. Well, before I made it to Bowser's Ice Castle, I had to fight this giant Glooper Blooper, and I fell into the water a couple of times. If you thought the weather was bad, the water is much much worse. I finally defeated him, and I headed straight to the castle while I freezing my butt off."

"Whoa. You would do something like that Mar. What happened next?"

"Well, I finally made it to the castle. I see Peach in a cage, and Bowser is trying to convince her to marry him as usual. Luckily for us and the Mushroom Kingdom, she kept refusing. So we fight as usual, but instead of lava pool underneath us, it was pool of water that was soo cold, it would possibly freeze you on impact!"

"Dang. Then what happened?" Felicity asks completely interested. Mario gets up, and starts moving around her room, as if he's fighting Bowser right now.

"He tries to attack me with his claw, but I dodged and kicked him. He used his fire breath, and ran from behind and threw fire balls at him. He picked up a wand, and casts spells that freezes anyone of anything it touches. I dodged, and ran and dodged until I saw a fire flower. I grabbed and started firing fire balls non stop at him." Mario says as he acts out the whole fight in front of her. Felicity starts to laugh at his performance, but she starts to cough hard once again and grabs her throat, but she still continues to laugh. Seeing how much pain she is by laughing at his performance, Mario stops and sits back on the bed.

"Of course, I beat Bowser as usual, and rescued Peach. As soon as I let her out that cage, I passed out on the ground. Before you ask how we made it back in one piece, and with all my fingers and toes, Peach used her magic to transport us back to the castle."

"Wait a minute. If she knew some transporting spells, then why didn't she used em to get out of the cage? Wouldn't that make sense."

"Good question kiddo. The cage was magic proof, and it left her powerless."

"Oh. So what happened after that?"

"Well, Peach told me that I had a 104 fever from that whole incident. If I hadn't gotten any help sooner, then I would have probably died from so many illnesses, and stuff."

"I'm guessing mom felt pretty guilty about everything that went down right?"

"Yeah. She didn't slept for three days, she hardly ate, and she never left my side because she wanted to make sure I was okay. If she had kept this up, then she would have gotten sick too."

"I'm glad she didn't go overboard in my case. Maybe she knew it was just a cold, and nothing serious."

"She does. You mom is a natural when it comes to nursing, and healing. She nursed me back to health in less than a week. I forced to eat and get some sleep too. She's truly a miracle worker, and that's one of the reasons why I love her."

"Yeah Mar. I think everyone in the Mushroom World knows you love her."

"And I love you too Felic."

"Really? But, you hardly know me."

"Of course I do. You've been here for three years, and I can see how much happier the Mushroom Kingdom is since you arrived, especially Peach. Before, there was always sadness behind her eyes, and I never knew why. But since you came, that sadness has been replaced with joy and love. Sides, Weegee and I think of you as family."

"Thanks Mar. You don't know how much that means to me right now." She says as she hugs him very tightly with tears in her eyes. Mario is surprised, but hugs her back as well. He kisses her on the forehead. Peach walks in the room and sees them hugging. She is touched by the scene in front of her. She's about to turn around and leave, but Mario sees her in the doorway.

"Peach. Come on in. We've been waiting for you and your delicious tea." Peach giggles and walks into the room, set the tea on the counter.

"How do you feel sweetheart?"

"Better. Mario told me about the first time he went to Ice Land to rescue you from Bowser, and how he got sick."

"Oh please don't remind me of that. Bowser tried to marry me, and he was giving this engagment ring made out of solid ice. It was horrible. It was until Mario saved me, but I wish you hadn't gotten so sick from it."

"But if I hadn't gotten, then I would never had you amazing nursing ability to heal me. That was one of the best weeks I ever had with you." Mario says as Peach blushes at his comment. She sits down beside him, and kisses him on the cheek. Mario blushes and Felicity giggles at the show in front of her. She picks up the pink and white tea cup (the one Peach used in that cutscene in Brawl), and starts to sip it. She stops and puts the tea back down on the counter.

"Wow mom, this tea is amazing! Where did you learn to make tea as great like this?"

"Well, your father taught me before he left. Whenever I got sick, he always made it for me so I would feel better. It really helped me get better very quickly. I'm sure you'll feel better after you drink this as well."

"No wonder this tastes so familiar. My dad made this for me when I was sad, or when I was sick. The last time he made it for me was the night before he went to the hospital. I was really sad, and he made it for me so I would feel better. He told me that he would always love me no matter what happened." Felicity stops and takes a deep breath, and sips some tea. Mario and Peach look on in concern.

"He was saying goodbye to me that day. He knew he wasn't gonna walk out that hospital this time. And deep down, I knew it too. I saw a vision of his funeral a month before it happened. People were very surprised why I didn't cry as much as I should."

"Oh Felicity. I miss him too." Peach says as she sits down next to her and strokes her hair comfortingly. Felicity looks up to her and smiles.

"Hey it's okay Mom. I know he's in a better place, watching over us, and the MK. He would want us to move on with our lives. And we should respect his wishes."

"You are absolutely right. Now are you finished with your tea?" Felicity nods and gives the cup and saucer back to Peach.

"Good, now you should go back to sleep now. You need your rest, so you can feel better."

"Awww mom. Do I have to? I wanna stay up and talk to Mar some more." Felicity complained, shocking both Mario and Peach. Mario puts her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry kiddo. We can talk some more after you wake up. And when you get better, we can talk for as long as you like. But for now, you need to get some sleep so you can feel better quickly okay?"

"You promise?"

"Pinky promise." He says as he sticks his pinky out to her. She smiles and she intwines her pinky into his. They let go, and lays down on her bed, and puts her head to her pillow. Mario pulls her the covers over her body.

"Have a night sleep kiddo." He says as he strokes her hair, and she smiles.

"Thanks Mar. And I want you to know that I love you too." She says as she sits up to plant a kiss on his cheek. She lays down on the bed while Mario touches his cheek in shock, but smiles.

"Thanks Felic. I'll leave you two alone for a while. I'll meet you outside Peach." He says as he kisses her on the cheek, and walks out her room. Peach and Felicity remain in her room.

"I'll see you when you wake up too sweetheart. I'm glad you and Mario finally bonded for a while."

"Alright mom. You know, when I said he would want you to move on, he would want you to marry someone you love. Someone like Mar." Felicity says as she winks to her. Peach is shocked, but starts to giggle at her little hint. She walks over to Felicity and kisses her on her forehead. Felicity closes her eyes, and falls asleep. Peach smiles, and walks out her room. She walks downstairs to the living and sits on the couch. Mario joins her a few minutes later. She lays her head on his shoulder and sighs.

"You know you're an amazing mother to her right? You take her in and raise her as your own. I always felt like she was already your own ever since she came here."

"I felt like that too. She made an interesting entrance in our lives, didn't she?"

"Just like her mother, except she was part of the rescue, not the reason for it." Mario and Peach laugh at the truth, and sigh.

"She's truly a remarkable girl. Like her beautiful, purehearted, amazing, mother."

"Mario, you always know how to make me feel so special."

"That's because you are Peach. And I love you with all my heart, and I'll never stop loving you till the day I die."

"And I love you too. Always and forever." She as they passionately kiss on the couch, much to Toadsworth's dismay, and delight. A few minutes later, they end their kiss and sit together and fall asleep in each other's arms.


End file.
